PITTSBURGH  How Ben Roethlisberger’s arm holds up remains to be seen, but his fans’ arms are just fine. When the Steelers quarterback was introduced before Sunday’s game at Heinz Field, the home crowd waved its terrible towels with the collective force of a cyclone.

It had been nearly a month since Big Ben had injured his throwing shoulder on Monday Night Football, and considering Pittsburgh had gone 1-2 in his absence, you can imagine how much fans appreciated seeing him back in uniform. But while Roethlisberger did return to the field, he doesn’t quite seem to have returned to form.

Yes, the two-time Super Bowl champion threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns. But that first TD didn’t come until the closing minutes of the third quarter, when his team was already down 24 points.

For the previous 42 minutes or so, his inefficiency was making the entire Chargers’ defense look Pro Bowl-worthy all the while sacrificing critical field position.

Four times in the second quarter, San Diego started a drive on the Steelers’ side of the field. And if Pittsburgh (7-6) wants to wriggle its way into the postseason, Roethlisberger has to purge himself of these types of games.

“I didn’t make plays. I didn’t get it to the receivers or the right guy,” said Roethlisberger who completed 22 of his 42 attempts. “I didn’t give them a good ball to run and catch with. I’ll take that first half on me.”

In Roethlisberger’s defense, his offensive line gave him little time to throw. And if not for his opponent-maddening scrambling ability, things could have gotten much worse.

Roethlisberger was sacked just twice Sunday, but consistently evaded the Chargers’ pass rush. Asked after the game if he expected to do so much running, he answered “no, but I wasn’t going to hold back if I had to.”

Additionally, there were a couple of dropped passes, most notably one Roethlisberger artfully placed into the hands of a streaking Mike Wallace, who bobbled it incomplete in the second quarter. The crowd booed Wallace following the flub, but talk to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, and he’ll tell you there was much more to the loss than a couple of unforced errors.

“Poor performance by us, and by that, I mean all of us. We coached poorly today, we played poorly today,” Tomlin said. “It’s a shame given the opportunity that was in front of us.”

Pittsburgh is currently tied with the Bengals for the final wildcard spot in the AFC, although the Steelers have the tiebreaker for now since they beat Cincinnati earlier in the season. That said, two will meet again on December 23 at Heinz Field.

That showdown could have mammoth expectations, and will not likely forgive a forgettable performance like what took place Sunday.

"I felt like we left a lot of plays out there," Roethlisberger said. "We all have to play better."